


Anyone Who Ever Dreamed

by love_killed_the_superstar



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eggpreg, F/F, Gem Egg Hell, Gemlings, Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Oviposition, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory, Pregnancy, Reunions, Unplanned Pregnancy, pearls are used for sex purposes in the courts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7878886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon Divergence as of Message Received. // Ever since White Diamond's pearl left 5000 years ago, Yellow and Blue have been searching for a reason to leave too. They just didn't expect it to come in the form of life itself.</p>
<p>(Or, Pearl left two lovers behind, and Yellow and Blue are ready to catch up with her again. Oh, and there are babies. That's a thing now.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SerMisty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerMisty/gifts).



> For SerMisty since she deserves all the polypearls and is the person who got me into this ship so ty!!
> 
> So I'm taking the plunge into polypearls egg hell. This is going to be slowburn polypearls and an alternate take on the show following Message Received, based on a screencap I happened to notice where Yellow has a wee chub tummy. The rest was history. (image can be found here: https://i.gyazo.com/33895efe798b87dec886993d403e918e.png  
> Yes, this is oviposition, but I promise to keep it as... not kinky (?) as possible, since it's for plot purposes. Also, cranky pregnant Yellow is the cutest thing ever.  
> Chapter (and fic title) inspired by the song Anyone Who Had A Heart by Dionne Warwick, since I feel like the song fits the hurt and loneliness of Yellow and Blue following Pearl's departure from Homeworld.

As all great tales begin, it all started when the pearl belonging to Yellow Diamond did something she wasn't supposed to: fornicated with the pearl belonging to Blue Diamond.

They'd been blissfully undetected for thousands of years, dating back to when a certain third party was in on their secret (no naming names; the honorary pearl code didn't allow for them to rat out a certain renegade, even if she did whisper sweet secrets of hers as they lay together night after night during inter-diamond meetings) well over five thousand years ago. Blue and Yellow, as they had become accustomed to calling themselves, were lucky; assistant pearls rarely found chance to interact with one another (the same couldn't be said for court pearls and labour pearls, who were given rest cycles to mingle behind closed doors). However, pearls belonging to The Diamonds would often find themselves in the company of other Diamond-pearls, and it was during these times that Yellow and Blue had found themselves talking out of turn, exchanging pleasantries.

Talking, of course, was only a brief stage that came before actual talking, which then dissolved into hand-holding, hugging, kissing; things gems weren't really supposed to do. Eventually, it had led to a cruder form of fusion. (A third pearl sometimes joined them. After she defected and ran away to Earth with a terrorist rose quartz, there was never a third pearl. Just the two of them, for all that time.)

Like all unsuspecting heroes, Yellow had no way of knowing that a passionate rendezvous in the waiting room outside of The Diamonds' thinking chamber would lead to something much bigger than all of them. But just two Homeworld rotations later, Yellow Pearl was unable to stand as rigid in Her Diamond's presence as she once had done. Her abdomen felt squirmy, swimming nauseatingly, and she could feel that her usually perfect porcelain skin was hot and clammy, damp with sweat from the effort of holding in the roiling in her stomach cavity. When Yellow Diamond left briefly, turning her attention to a report from a chalcedony, Yellow pressed a hand to her belly. It looked just the tiniest bit bloated, and felt tender to touch. Digging her fingers a little deeper into her flesh, she froze as she felt the unmistakable hardness of pebble-like objects resting uncomfortably in her abdomen.

Oh, Yellow was in a heap of trouble.

 

…

 

Immediately after Yellow Diamond's unbelievable encounter with a defective peridot, a meeting was scheduled with Blue Diamond and White Diamond. Yellow could hardly think straight. The interaction with the outspoken peridot had shaken her up, certainly (she had been kicked over by Her Diamond on her way to detonate the communicator, since Yellow Diamond was – rightfully, she agreed – furious with how the call had ended), but now she was even more shaken up by the revelation that she was somehow defective.

How had this sudden defect sprung upon her unsuspectingly, as suddenly as it did? At least a certain pearl's defect was noticeable from the beginning, an ovular gem embedded in her forehead for every gem to see, but Yellow? Yellow was _perfect,_ as perfect as a pearl could be. Completely spherical, with just a hint of gold to the pearlescent surface of her gem, a perfect physical form that perfectly followed every last order bestowed on her by Yellow Diamond. She was everything a diamond could want – so what had gone wrong?

Blue arrived with Blue Diamond, as she always did, with a bent head, mop of hair covering her eyes, bowing with her hands clasped tightly together. She received a light pat on the head from her owner before Blue Diamond joined Yellow Diamond at the table. Minutes later, White Diamond joined, acknowledging neither of the pearls stood guarding the entrance (she rarely, if ever, acknowledged pearls these days, and hadn't done so since the defection of her prized pearl in the wake of a certain rebellion), and slammed the door shut behind her. They were alone.

“Blue,” Yellow choked out. “Blue, you need to know something.”

Blue turned to face her, certain now that they were alone, and murmured, “Is this about the call that the rogue peridot made to Yellow Diamond earlier? I overheard a vague explanation when Yellow Diamond called My Diamond. Is it true...? The planet the peridot is residing on is the same one where the war was fought?”

“Y-Yes. It's true, the peridot was calling from Earth.” Yellow swallowed, but the notion only made her feel more sick. “Yellow Diamond wishes to destroy the Earth for a geo-weapon, but the peridot seemed insistent on – l-listen, Blue, I-”

“I wonder why. Could she have found some sort of message left behind by the rebels, insisting that another gem defend the Earth in the event of their deaths following the geological nuke?” Blue's tone grew excited, her voice raising slightly at the idea. “Perhaps, a new rebellion is on its way?”

Yellow burped.

Blue paused, her head tilting. “Are you... all right?”

“Stars,” gasped Yellow, hiccuping and leaning back against the wall. Her world was pitching. “Blue, Blue, I don't know what's happening but it feels _awful,_ oh...”

“What? What do you mean, a-are you hurt? Are you going to release your physical form?” Blue squeaked, formless as a newly made ruby as she tottered over to stand beside Yellow. The golden-hued pearl took a few gasping breaths, taking in air she didn't require, fruitlessly hiccuping as she attempted to hold onto whatever was trying to claw its way out of her.

Finally, she lost the battle and fell to her knees, bending over and heaving. Since Yellow Diamond rarely indulged in eating herself and never bothered with feeding her pearl for pleasure either, Yellow's abdominal cavity was completely empty, leaving her heaving out sick mouthfuls of air and very little else, the occasional spatter of drool as she coughed and gasped and burped, her stomach twisting this way and that, constricting and releasing, over and over. Her gem was pulsing, she was shaking all over, and stars, she felt terrible.

Fearfully, Blue patted her back, wondering if perhaps Yellow Diamond had given Yellow something that didn't agree with her feeble digestive tract in the wake of the peridot's outrageous call. After what felt like days, the convulsing in Yellow's stomach calmed, and her breathing slowly returned to normal, though she still found herself emitting a stream of nauseous hiccups as she pitifully attempted to stand. Her vision was still muddled, and her legs wobbled.

“Up you go,” murmured Blue, lifting Yellow up to a standing position. “What in the world was that?”

“I, I think-” She paused to press a hand to her mouth, afraid she would start to retch again, thankful when the urge passed moments later. “I think I... I may be defecting, Blue.”

Blue stared, mouth gaping open slightly.

“Defecting?” she repeated in a hushed tone. “H-How do you know?”

“I feel like something keeps trying to come up,” Yellow admitted, taking a few deep breaths. “B-But I haven't eaten anything before, so I don't understand what else it could be. And... in my abdomen, there are... abnormalities.”

“Like what?” pressed Blue, concern written all over her features. It was touching to Yellow that at least someone would miss her if she was gone. Wordlessly, she guided Blue's hand over to press against the hard lumps in her belly. The moment Blue made contact, she gasped.

“Oh my stars...”

“So you see,” Yellow concluded woefully, “my days are numbered. If Yellow Diamond finds out, which I highly suspect she will since my erratic behaviour makes me transparent as a hologram, I'll surely be sent away to be shattered. I just... I thought I would tell you, before I go. Maybe it's vain of me to think you'll miss me, but I didn't want to be shattered with regrets weighing on my conscience.”

Blue swallowed fearfully and shook her head slowly.

“Yellow, that isn't it...” She put a hand to her gem, mind racing with the discovery. “Yellow, don't you see? You're... you're c-carrying!”

Yellow stared. “Carrying? Come again?”

“There are...” Blue swallowed. “There are... geodes... in your body right now, Yellow. You know how... how sometimes, the court pearls disappear one day, and nobody gives explanation for their absence?”

How could she not know? She was always afraid of such a thing happening to her someday – Yellow Diamond smearing her crumbling pearl out of existence with one swipe of her hand, and never acknowledging her again. It wasn't like she'd never done it before, after all.

Seeing Yellow nod, Blue continued. “You... you know it's because of what the quartzes and other court gems do to those pearls, don't you?”

Yellow's entire body, so overheated this past cycle, seemed to freeze as it dawned on her exactly what Blue meant. Of course she knew quartzes and beryls liked to do that kind of things with pearls (and rubies certainly did their best to convince pearls to go with them, fruitless as their attempts may be). She just never realised that these instances were related.

“They impregnate pearls of the court,” Blue explained, looking sicker by the second. “Of course, the chances of actual conception are minute. But when it happens, and other gems find out, the pearls are taken away. Yellow, th-they're going to shatter you if they find out! Yellow Diamond herself might... oh, Yellow, when did this even happen? Who did Yellow Diamond lend you to?!”

“Nobody!” squeaked Yellow, clutching at the front of her leotard fearfully. “She never... My Diamond would never lend me out to the masses! She doesn't even let Blue Diamond give me orders!”

“Then...” Blue's hands covered her gem and she took a few deep breaths, before choking out, “Then they're mine, Yellow.”

Yellow's gem felt heavy, too heavy, and she leaned back against the wall again, shutting her eyes tight and willing the sickness back, this time from fear of the inevitable.

“If they find out about me, they'll find out about you too,” she said through strained breathing. “Blue, th-they'll shatter the both of us.”

They both fell into a stunned silence, processing the information. It was a good thing the Diamonds were in for a long night too. At last, Blue spoke up.

“I could always poof you, and destroy or hide the geodes.”

 _Destroy._ The word felt sickening to hear, and Yellow couldn't help but think, despite the trouble they had caused her so far, that other Homeworld gems had destroyed enough pearls without pearls turning on _each other._

“I'll n-never reform in time, Blue, not without my Diamond noticing. She'd be able to tell, and I can't lie to her about something as big as this, she'd realise immediately!”

“Then stay in your gem, and I'll tell them we were attacked.”

“They wouldn't believe it,” Yellow said grimly. “Why attack us and not steal us, torture us for information, sell us underground for a good price, since we are Diamond-serving? Why leave you in tact, when you could identify them? Your Diamond might be able to accept these explanations without question, but mine will not. Never would she fall for such a thin deception.”

“Then what do you think we should do?” Blue cried, on the verge of tears by the shaking of her voice. Her hands were wringing nervously, and she was unable to keep her shoulders from trembling at the thought of losing Yellow. “If Yellow Diamond finds out, she'll, she'll shatter you! I don't want you to shatter, Yellow!”

“Keep your voice down,” hissed Yellow, and Blue fell silent. From beneath her fringe, tears began to dribble down, and Yellow said more gently, “Look, just... please, they'll hear you. We have to... have to think rationally about this. Stars, Blue! I... I didn't think this could happen between two _pearls!”_

“I didn't either,” Blue said desperately. “Please believe me, Yellow. If I knew this would happen...”

Yellow pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her breathing steady. _In and out, in and out._

“Please, Blue, we need to think. We... we need to find a way to somehow, just, keep this a secret, or reason with... no, there is no reasoning with Yellow Diamond, I know that... Argh! Blue, I don't think we _can_ do anything.” She swallowed, and squeaked, “I'm going to die.”

“No, I won't let you,” Blue said, almost pleadingly. “Please, we'll, we'll figure something out! Look... it's...” She lowered her voice. “It's not like it's unheard of for pearls to run away.”

“What?!” Yellow's voice lowered to a hiss. “What are you saying, Blue?! I can't run away! Yellow Diamond would find me, the whole of Homeworld would be looking for me!”

“No they wouldn't,” Blue shot back, and she hesitated. “Yellow, Your Diamond wouldn't do anything but order another pearl just like you, you know that! I'm... I'm older than you, and I remember her last pearl. You could have been a carbon copy of her.”

Yellow felt sick to her stomach once more, this time for an entirely different reason.

“So you're saying it doesn't matter at all if I just slipped away to die somewhere private?” she asked with a bitter laugh. “You're saying she'll shatter me if she finds out, but she won't care enough to find me if I'm snatched from her?”

“Maybe for information,” Blue said with a heavy heart. “But all owners are the same, Yellow. Even Our Diamonds.”

Hot tears burned her eyes. She wasn't sure why, exactly. It wasn't entirely shocking to know Yellow Diamond had made zero effort to customise her pearls over the thousands of years since her last replacement. It wasn't startling to know that Yellow Diamond wouldn't care if she was taken and sold on the black market – after all, Yellow was obligated to detonate her information on The Diamonds in the event of her being snatched. Now, she wasn't so sure if that obligation meant anything at all.

“Then,” Yellow said thickly, through her own babyish tears, “what exactly do you suggest I do, Blue? I don't know the first thing about... what White did. I wasn't there to watch her go – I would have talked her out of it, and you know it. I don't know how to sneak away or, or how to get off this star-forsaken colony...!”

“It doesn't have to be like White,” Blue said gently, reaching forward and cupping Yellow's face in her hands. Her gem was pulsing in anticipation of her next words, and it took some effort to get them out. “We just run. I'm coming with you... we stand a better chance of survival together. When the gems who fused defected, it wasn't fancy or extreme, it was just two gems, running together. Falling together.”

“Where would we go?” whispered Yellow, blinking rapidly to try and keep her tears from falling. Everything just felt like _too much._ “I've never even left Homeworld. I don't know a damn thing about anything, stars, Yellow Diamond hasn't even taught me how to read...”

“It doesn't matter where we go,” Blue said gently. She leaned forward and pressed a ginger kiss to Yellow's nose, like she always did when trying to cheer her up. “Anywhere but here. Our Diamonds won't know where to look for us first, even if they did send out search parties. The next time they are in a meeting, we will wait by the docking station, and we'll stow away on the first ship to leave. Wherever we end up, we'll learn to survive. White did it once, and I know we can too.”

“You do?” Yellow asked tearfully.

“I do.”

The doors slammed open, and Blue and Yellow scarcely had time to straighten up and swipe a hasty hand across their faces to hide their tears before White Diamond stormed out, sparing them no passing glance as she strode past them with purpose and onto the warp pad, presumably returning to her own pearl-less study.

“Pearl, we're going,” Blue Diamond spoke a few moments later, also holding herself with tension. Yellow prayed she wouldn't take this tension out on Blue once they returned to her chambers.

Blue left her side, unable to even risk a glance back at her, and soon warped away, leaving only Yellow standing.

“Pearl,” called the stern voice of Her Diamond from inside the thinking chamber. “Come here.”

Trembling, she did.

 


	2. The Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was funny, how allegiances could change so suddenly. If 5000 years wasn't enough to cement her loyalty to Yellow Diamond, what would be?  
> (Yellow and Blue run for the stars.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm so i bet nobody thought i'd be here again so soon! i already have about 10k words written up for this fic, so it didn't take long to complete. the longest part of writing this was drawing the title page to go with it.  
> anyway, stay tuned, because our babies are goin to space.

As a wise one once said, a real hero must struggle. As it would seem, they were correct, if a pregnant pearl fighting to keep her condition a secret from Her Diamond counted as heroism in any shape or form.

Yellow was beginning to lose faith in this plan Blue had concocted for them to run away to seek safety elsewhere. For starters, the more she thought about it, the more ludicrous it seemed. Two pearls, running away! Thinking they could escape Their Diamonds! The naivety... they weren't White. They didn't have a quartz at their side to fend off rubies chasing them down, and they certainly didn't have the courage nor strength to – dare they even think it – shatter a Diamond.

Ever since the end of the meeting, Yellow Diamond had been keeping her eye on Yellow. Perhaps the defective peridot on Earth had reminded Her Diamond of dark times of war and loss, and she was afraid of Yellow defecting too, but she demanded for Yellow to remain present at all times, mindlessly filing, occasionally answering calls. This made it a lot harder to hide her discomfort and nausea, but miraculously, she managed, if only because Yellow Diamond was in such deep thought in the sols following the peridot's call.

Finally, eight sols following the call, another meeting was called, and at last the two pearls were once again left to their own devices. Immediately, Blue took Yellow's hand.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, and there was an urgency in her voice that Yellow wasn't expecting.

“I'm... I'm all right.” She hesitated. “I mean, I still feel bad, but no worse than the last time you saw me.”

“I think it's a side effect of the p-pregnancy,” Blue stuttered, ducking her head a little. Yellow glanced down at her front. Eight sols had made little to no difference to the swelling in her abdomen whatsoever, but at least it meant that Yellow Diamond hadn't noticed it yet. “Anyway, are you ready to go?”

“Go?” squeaked Yellow. “You mean we're actually doing this? It wasn't just some half-baked plan you came up with that we were just thinking about for the sake of wanting to do something?”

Blue took Yellow's hand in her own and squeezed.

“We have to do this,” she said in a low voice. She used her free hand to push her bangs away from her face, revealing dark, focused eyes that Yellow so rarely got the chance to see. If she wasn't freaking out so hard at that moment, she might have tried to savour the sight. “If we don't take this opportunity, we won't get a next one. Yellow Diamond _will_ notice soon enough, Yellow.”

Yellow hesitated, and glanced towards the heavy door dividing them from Their Diamonds.

“What do we tell them?”

“We don't tell them anything,” Blue insisted, tugging Yellow towards the exit. “Come on. If we alert them we're leaving, it'll just make them suspicious. Our highest success rate is to slip away without a word. We're pearls, they won't even notice we're gone for hours.”

Yellow swallowed, staring up at the yellow diamond-patterned walls and the heavy cream door longingly. Even if it was gaudy and hurt to look at for extended periods, this was the only part of the known universe that Yellow had seen, and for that reason, it felt like home to her. Knowing she could never return was, understandably, difficult to wrap her head around.

She allowed for Blue to lead her out, craning her neck to stare at the loud walls until they were out of sight.

They sped up as they headed down the narrow, winding hallway, slowing to an orderly yet brisk walk each time another gem walked past. Yellow felt clammy again, and her mind raced as she considered what they were doing. Running away from Homeworld, defying Their Diamonds, betraying the place they were destined to serve... it all felt like too much, especially gambling the safety of their gilded cages for the future of minute pearls, little oyster scabs in her belly, that didn't even have identities yet, didn't have thoughts or feelings.

But... they would, wouldn't they? They wouldn't be manufactured the way pearls were in controlled environments on Homeworld, injecting nacres with programming chips that grew inside them like parasites, detailing the colour, size and allegiance of their pearls. Autonomy was something that wired pearls had to learn, something that often led them to be shattered. It was easy to look at a certain renegade and think: _yes, she had autonomy because she was defective, a bad pearl, a mistake bred through carelessness of a nacre and the high demand for White Diamond to be handed a pearl immediately._ But the pearls that Yellow and Blue had made together... what would become of them? What would a pearl be like, if she had no orders, just the ability to exist?

It pained her to even think about. Yet, she just couldn't get the idea out of her head.

This was what White had always wanted, after all.

“Yellow,” whispered Blue, tugging on her arm. Yellow snapped back into focus, following where Blue's other hand was pointing towards.

They had reached the Yellow Diamond main docking station, a place Yellow had only visited twice while shadowing Her Diamond as she inspected a ship that had been specifically designed for any voyages she would be making. Yellow was sure that Her Diamond had used it a few times, but she'd been left behind each time. In over 5000 years, she'd never once left Homeworld. As terrified as she was at the prospect of abandoning her old life, she couldn't help but be curious about what lay beyond the stars.

The docking station was empty, with only one ship currently waiting to lift off, and it felt lonely and wrong enough to send a shiver down Yellow's spine. “Why is it so empty? Aren't there usually dozens of ships waiting here? Where are all the quartzes?”

“Didn't you hear the announcement on the way over?” Blue asked quietly, turning to face her. “A nephrite called for a meeting for all captains and crew still on this base, because of some sort of mix up due to a defective morganite's prior announcement. The other ships have already left for this cycle, but the one that was mistakenly called is where we're going now.”

She motioned again, and this time Yellow saw.

A small crimson ship was docked, with a wide, yellow-tinted window that reminded her a lot of the visors that were popular among Yellow Diamond's ruby fleets. Oh, no.

“Please tell me we aren't stowing away on a ruby craft,” hissed Yellow.

“It's our best shot at escaping,” Blue responded, with a shrug that wasn't apologetic in the slightest. “They're incredibly easy for even us to outsmart. So long as we keep quiet, I doubt they would even check the brig. The holding cells won't be activated until they've secured a prisoner, so if we sneak out while they're pursuing whoever they're being sent out to retrieve...”

“...We can successfully stow away,” Yellow finished. “They'll never even know. Those rubies are such clods that they'd never even notice us escape!”

“Exactly,” Blue agreed, with a small smile. “I don't think they've been summoned yet, so let's hurry.”

It felt wrong to be doing this, and Yellow's stomach was once again playing up at the very idea of managing to leave Homeworld, undetected or not. But Blue seemed so confident in doing this, all she could do was trust her judgement.

It was easy enough getting into the ship – all it took was a gem under Yellow Diamond's servitude to activate the door, so Yellow did the honours while Blue kept watch – and they peered around with wide eyes. The ship was basic, warm yellows and golds on the inside with five separate work stations, with vermilion seating and controls. The artificial glow of the ship felt familiar to Yellow Diamond's chambers, and Yellow found herself feeling a little more at ease in these surroundings.

“Come on, now. We need to go down to the holding cells,” Blue said firmly, breaking Yellow from her trance. “If we don't bunker down soon, the rubies will come back and we'll have to explain to them why two pearls belonging to Diamonds ended up hiding in their ship. I don't think even a ruby would be gullible enough to let us stay after that.”

“A fair point,” grumbled Yellow. “Let's go.”

They stood on the diamond emblem in the centre of the ship floor, and sure enough, it began to sink into the lower levels. Directly beneath the control station was the holding cells, and presumably the engines were somewhere beneath that. Yellow didn't really care to study the layout of the ship, so long as there was an escape route.

The holding cells weren't structured in a corridor fashion, as they might be on a bigger transport vessel, since the ship was so small; instead, they were circular, similar to the layout of the work stations above, with each cell facing each other and the emblem platform in the centre of the level. There wasn't really anywhere to hide, but since the rubies wouldn't have any reason to go down there before they reached their destination, the risk of being caught was minimal.

“Pick a favourite,” Blue murmured. “It'll be our home, for as long as it takes to reach the planet we're headed to.”

“I don't like this, Blue,” Yellow said with a nervous swallow. She picked the cell behind where they had been facing, so at least if the rubies did go down there it would be easier to jump them and destabilise them, somehow. “I don't like this at all.”

“Well, it's for the best,” decided Blue, sitting down beside her. She laced their fingers together, noting both of them had trembling hands. “I can't say I'm not terrified, but... we have to do this if you want to keep the pearls we made safe and alive. If not... we can always turn back now.”

“Why do I have to choose between the two?” Yellow asked, more to herself than to Blue. “Of course I don''t want to forsake Yellow Diamond... but how can pearls turn on one another? I'm _not_ White. I can't just... I can't just leave another pearl to die, even if it makes me feel safer.”

“Then I won't ask that of you,” Blue said firmly. “But that means there's no turning back from this point onwards. And it means enduring all of it – surviving until we reach our new destination, yes, but also escaping the ship, surviving against other threats. And for you, there is still the gestation to endure, too. If you don't think you can handle this, let me poof you now.”

“I can't,” bleated Yellow brokenly. “I can't.”

It was funny, how allegiances could change so suddenly. If 5000 years wasn't enough to cement her loyalty to Yellow Diamond, what would be? How could she be suddenly questioning things, after pearls she didn't even realise she was having had come into her life as suddenly as they did? Was this what it was like for White all those years ago, suddenly being given a choice after millennia of mindlessly following orders? Was this really any different from what she did?

“Then it's done.” Blue squeezed her hand, and at that moment footsteps clunked over their heads, as muffled chatter filled the air above them. Yellow cursed under her breath. Surely she'd be driven to cracking herself before surviving any sort of trip into space with a crew of rubies over their heads.

“All right soldiers, listen up!” a gruff voice rang out overhead, muffled by the floor between them. “This is an important mission! Yellow Diamond assigned it herself, to retrieve Jasper from the Earth for a regulatory progress report!”

“Did she just say-” started Yellow in a hushed whisper.

Blue shushed her and strained her ears.

“Um...”

“What is it, newbie?”

“It's just... _which_ jasper are we retrieving?”

“Which jasper? Did you just pop out of the ground?!” The leading voice rose in incredulity and Yellow felt herself shrink back just the tiniest bit. “The facet nine jasper that could, you clod! And do you really need her facet and cut?! She'll be the only jasper on that backwater planet!”

A slightly calmer voice intervened. “We need to leave, or we'll never arrive on Earth in time to retrieve the jasper and leave before the emergence of Yellow Diamond's new geo-weapon.”

The first ruby gasped. “You're right! To your stations, rubies!”

A loud shuffling of feet could be heard overhead, and the ship was suddenly alight with the whirring of the engine, the low rumbling of the ship as it rose from the ground. Blue was thrown to the ground harshly as the ship suddenly veered to the left, and the sound of the airlock opening buzzed in their ears. The ship surged forward, and they were in space. As soon as their voices could be easily lost beneath the humming of the engines, Yellow turned on Blue, who pulled herself back into a sitting position again.

“Earth?! Your master plan is dumping us on Earth, the planet where Yellow Diamond's cluster is due to emerge from?! We'll be shattered in a week!”

“I didn't know this ship was headed there,” defended Blue. “I swear! And... besides, if the Earth is already destroyed, we'll just stay on the ship! They're clearly not going to throw the jasper they're retrieving into a cell, so if we stay hidden, we'd just be able to stop off at their next location. We will find our sanctuary, Yellow, I promise.”

“I feel sick,” Yellow groaned, burying her head in her hands. Blue rubbed her back worriedly.

“Please try not to get sick. They might hear you.”

“It's just so typical that we're going to the planet that White... died on.” Admitting it, even after all this time, was painful, and clearly Blue felt it too, from the way she ducked her head down too. “Even when she's gone, she's still somehow managing to keep a hold on us.”

“Yellow...”

“Look, I don't – I don't care, okay? She left. Why would I still care, after so many years?”

“ _I_ care,” Blue said quietly. “It hurt when she left us. It felt like having a piece of me ripped away, and pearls rarely hold anything that important to them in the first place. I still think about her too.”

“Well, I'm done with it,” Yellow said in resolve. She groaned again and shut her eyes tightly, finding the darkness alleviated some of her nausea for the time being. It was cold, comforting. Like the deepest depths of space. “I'm done being a slave to her memory.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand they're in space.  
> next stop: earth! more specifically, a baseball game!


	3. Return To Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was no way of knowing just how terrible or wonderful their experiences on Earth would be, but Blue would rather be shattered fighting for Yellow than to just give up on this escape they'd been dreaming of. She wasn't about to go back on her one true act of courage just because they were gambling a lot by coming here.  
> (They made it. They really made it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally there is a cover!! next chapter will be coming just as soon as i've drawn up THAT cover

It was selfish, she knew, to wish for more when they were lucky to even be alive, but Blue wished they had some sort of window view. When she had made this journey with Blue Diamond at the birth of the rebellion for Earth, she had stayed by Her side while they watched stars dying and being born all around them, winking in the deep, endless ink of space. It was one of her first voyages out into space, and even behind her sheet of hair, it was breathtaking to view. She just wished that Yellow was able to see the same view.

Unfortunately, all that Yellow was seeing was the inside of one of Blue Diamond's old (now considered unfashionable) vases, that had been stored in Blue's gemspace as an afterthought, when she had found herself unable to part with the intricate mosaic designs. Now, however, it was being used to store whatever bile and saliva Yellow could manage to cough up as she battled with a combination of motion sickness and the sickness that was plaguing her as a result of the geodes incubating in her abdomen. It was all Blue could do to rub her back and murmur reassurances to her as she hunched over the vase once more.

Fortunately, the rubies above their heads were far too busy making their own noise (gossiping, joking, trying to spy unusual shapes in the asteroids) to hear each time Yellow coughed up into the tinny vase. Blue had lost count of how many times this had happened since they had departed from Homeworld, but it would take approximately six Homeworld cycles to reach Earth. So far, they'd only been aboard for the equivalent of two, almost three. Poor Yellow.

“You're doing good,” murmured Blue, when Yellow slumped backwards, defeated by the fatigue that swept over her every time a bout of sickness passed. She reached down to ghost a hand over Yellow's gem; slightly warm, but that was to be expected while she wasn't feeling her best. Heat fluctuation and unusual rising of temperature of the gem was the signs that most carrying pearls in the courts experienced, and Blue was just grateful that Yellow hadn't experienced any major hot or cold spells that would be impossible to quell with no equipment at their hands.

“I'm expelling stomach acid and saliva from my body every time we hit turbulence and more,” snapped Yellow. “It's no achievement of any kind, Blue.”

“It was supposed to be supportive. I was trying to make you feel better.”

“And does it look like I feel better?”

Grouchiness, Blue noted, was another new thing. Yellow could be very moody at times, that was for sure, but her foul moods seemed to be derived from the strangest of things now that she was carrying. Blue wasn't sure if it was the strain of carrying (like artificially forming pearls irritated the abdominal linings of nacres during formation, it was likely geodes would do the same thing to any other carrier gem), the discomfort and embarrassment of throwing up multiple times on this journey, or something else entirely... but if one thing was for certain, nothing she seemed to do could help Yellow's mood improve.

One thing that did help, however, was sleeping. Yellow used to laugh in the face of rest cycles, not believing in the stories of pearls who had literally worked themselves to death trying to please their owners. Now, she'd sleep every few hours, scattered naps whenever the fatigue gave her no other choice, or sometimes to keep the nausea at bay. She'd curl up with her head resting in Blue's lap, and she'd dream. Her gem would flicker to life once REM sleep hit, and it would project onto the walls of the holding cells opposite like an eerie shadow.

Blue would watch in fascination as snatches of memories, stories and hopes would waltz on by, sometimes with the accompaniment of voices. It was sweet, seeing White again, animated and talking, sometimes kissing Blue or Yellow in between hurried explanations of her wild ideas. In between the kisses were arguments, and long periods of silence, but there would always be talking and laughter again, and Yellow had preserved White's face and gem with such striking clarity that Blue felt herself welling up with emotion each time she crawled out from Yellow's subconscious.

But inevitably, the night of White's departure kept coming up, clearer than any other memory, any other dream, and yet Blue found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the holograms every time.

 

…

 

“Do you want to be like this forever?”

The question had been sprung upon them suddenly while waiting for Their Diamonds, outside a meeting room over 5000 years ago. White, as usual, was the first to speak. They hadn't been touching much, lately, nor kissing, nor talking. Ever since a certain rose quartz had started talking to White, things had grown strained between the three of them; she was coming up with more and more absurd ideas – freedom, revolution, safety on a backwater planet light years away – and no matter what she said, her precious 'Rose' came up every damn time.

“Be like what forever, White?” grumbled Yellow. She knew of course (how could she not, the way White preached about it so very often?), but it was easier to feign ignorance every time. She felt less broken, that way.

“Trapped. Their precious little toys, even though we can think for ourselves, we can talk out of turn!” White moved from her post, waved her arms around. “We don't have to be like this forever, don't you understand? I'm... I'm leaving soon. With Rose.”

This had their attention.

“What?! Where are you going?” squeaked Blue, mouth gaping open in horror.

“You're more cracked than I thought if you think you can escape,” snapped Yellow. “I know you think your precious rose quartz can save you, White, but it's time to wake up.”

“I'm more awake than you could ever know,” White retorted, and there it was again, that fire in her eyes that pearls weren't supposed to touch, spilling out with her words, acid on their gems. “But I don't want to leave you behind, which is why I'm giving you this choice now.” Her voice lowered slightly, ever so slightly, casting a fleeting glance towards the heavy door that held behind it The Diamonds Themselves. “Leave with me. Say you'll come with me, because Rose and I are heading to Earth. You could too.”

“Shut up!” hissed Yellow, wide-eyed and furious. “Stop trying to poison us, White! You know what would happen to us if The Diamonds found out, so why put us in that position?!”

“Because I love you,” White said, eyes holding her gaze evenly. Yellow was the first to tear away from it, glaring at her feet. “I love both of you, and I don't want to leave you behind.”

“But...” Blue hesitated, and asked quietly, “what about Rose Quartz?”

That single question held so many more. White may have had a place in Rose Quartz's grand plan, but as it stood two more frail pearls had no skills that would be of any use to White and Rose's make-believe rebellion. Not to mention, they both had an idea of what Rose was to White, and they weren't sure if they could coexist without further conflict down the line.

“Rose has a plan. She says I can't tell you the full details unless you're fully committed to the cause, but... oh, it'll be wonderful, we're going to set up a camp, hopefully host more meetings with Pink Diamond – well, Rose will, anyway, I will be in hiding until the matter is resolved... but we could be free on Earth, don't you see? We could do anything! Explore, learn to fight... We'd make our own orders. We'd never have to listen to them again. Doesn't that sound wonderful?”

“It hurts to even think about,” Blue said with a faint, dismissive smile, a shake of her head. White gripped her shoulders.

“It hurts _not_ to think about.”

“We can't afford to get attached to your pipe dream, White,” sneered Yellow, turning away. “We don't have some quartz who gives a damn about us. We don't have your-”

“My defect?” White asked bluntly. “You don't need to be defective to dream, Yellow.”

“Maybe not,” Yellow snapped coldly. “But you need to be defective to act on those dreams. And I'm. Not. Defective.”

White shook her head in disbelief. “Could've fooled me, the way you look at the stars sometimes. You think we don't see. You think you're the only one who wishes for something more. You _deserve_ something more, Yellow, don't you see that? You deserve to be given the opportunity to learn how to pilot the ships, to read, to do more than just file Her damn paperwork every day!”

“White-” Blue warned.

“You shut your mouth!” hissed Yellow, spinning around and stabbing a finger in White's face. “I'm happy like this! Don't you understand you're just setting yourself up for disappointment?! The moment White Diamond sees you for what you really are – a defective pearl that should have never been trusted to serve Her Diamond – she'll shatter you where you stand! All I'm trying to do is save you from dreaming too big, but if you don't want to see that, screw you, White!”

White stood frozen, hurt seeping into her features, shining in her eyes.

“Yellow!” Blue stood between them. “Stop it, both of you! If The Diamonds hear us-”

“Stop caring so much about what The Diamonds think!” snarled White, and Blue flinched at the ferocity in her voice. “I'm offering you a way out, why won't you take it?!”

“Because maybe we don't want to be saved,” Yellow ground out. “If you're so desperate to run off with Rose Quartz, just do it already! But don't expect my _blessing!”_

Blue chewed her lip, but stared down at the ground. Knowing she was outnumbered, White scrubbed a hand over her face, before moving back to her post.

The next day, Pink Diamond was shattered, and White Diamond's pearl was nowhere to be found.

 

…

 

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly from within the space beneath the ship's controls, where Blue and Yellow lay huddled, listening out for any loud or sudden noises. It had to have been close to the end now, Blue reasoned. It was difficult to keep track of how much Homeworld time had passed since they had entered the ship, since they had no view from the outside to go off of, but surely... and in all honesty, she wasn't sure how much more of this Yellow could take. She was looking more and more exhausted by the day, with no relief from her spells of nausea. Blue couldn't remember more specific details about her condition, but she was guessing that Yellow was in need of water, perhaps some nutrients, and definitely some sort of medical examination.

She couldn't help but fret over it. It was no secret that Yellow Diamond liked to kick around her pearl when she was frustrated, and if she had harmed Yellow in any way... Blue didn't like to think about what that could mean for the geodes.

She gently rested a hand on Yellow's abdomen, noting Yellow hadn't stirred at all in quite some time, nor were her projections displaying anything resembling a memory or dream. She'd be waking soon, leaving the space of REM sleep. Blue could definitely feel more than one geode, but the exact number they could expect alluded her. She knew she wasn't particularly smart, she didn't have all the knowledge they needed, but if there was even the tiniest hope that organic life had resumed on that planet... maybe the peridot who called Yellow Diamond a clod would be there. Maybe she could help them, maybe not.

It was silly to believe for even a second that White would still be there (they'd seen the blast, they'd felt the atmosphere shake, and they'd seen through the telescopes of the Diamonds the damage that had been done). Tears pricked her eyes just thinking about it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry of, “There it is!!” somewhere above her head.

Immediately other voices joined in, gleeful exclamations of, “We made it!” and “Look how filthy and organic it is! Just like in the reports!”

Yellow grunted and shifted in Blue's lap, her eyes opening and the hologram of white noise flickering out of sight. She sat up slowly, wincing at the heaviness in her head, and mumbled, “What's going on?”

“We're here,” Blue said in a hushed whisper, hardly able to contain her excitement. “We made it, Yellow! We made it!”

“To Earth?” Yellow swallowed thickly and clung to Blue to steady herself. “It feels like millennia since we left Homeworld... I don't want to make that journey again any time soon.”

“And you won't have to,” Blue promised her, reaching to squeeze her hands. “As soon as we land, as soon as there's an opening, we're getting off this ship.”

“How can you be so certain there will be one?” Yellow asked, ever the pessimist. “What if we don't get that chance? What if they find us stowing away and-”

“We'll face that situation when it comes our way,” Blue said firmly. “We're going to be okay.”

She spoke with more confidence than she possessed, truthfully. There was no way of knowing just how terrible or wonderful their experiences on Earth would be, but she would rather be shattered fighting for Yellow than to just give up on this escape they'd been dreaming of. She wasn't about to go back on her one true act of courage just because they were gambling a lot by coming here.

The landing was bumpy and confusing and Yellow almost vomited again when they experienced a kind of turbulence that had them flying through the sky like the whole ship had been flicked by a giant hand. But at last they slammed into the Earth, and the rubies began leaving the ship, causing a commotion as they usually did.

 

…

 

That said, playing a game against humans seemed like a rather trivial thing, even for rubies, to do with their time instead of meeting their mission objective. Realising they weren't going to be coming back into the ship any time soon, Blue ventured upwards to investigate, Yellow following suit. The windows were caked in dirt, and all they could see all around them was the darkness of the Earth's crust, casting eerie shadows over the dimly lit control room. Blue pushed on the emergency exit, and found that it wouldn't budge.

“There's, there's no way out,” she whispered to Yellow, in a panic, and Yellow blanched.

“No,” she squeaked, “No, there has to be a way out! You said so, we can't turn back, not after how far we've come! We need to find a way-”

“We need to wait,” Blue decided, falling back into one of the control chairs. It wasn't comfortable in any way, as Blue Diamond's palanquin and other furniture had been, and it just served to make her feel more upset. Curse these rubies and their basic, angular style. Stars, they were going stir-crazy in this gem-forsaken ship. “I hate it as much as you do, but we need to wait for... for the perfect moment.”

“The last time a pearl I knew waited for the perfect moment, her foolish quartz lover shattered Pink Diamond,” sneered Yellow. “I'm not going to wait for something else to go horribly wrong.”

She reached for the hatch once more, but just inches from grasping it, her hand froze.

“Yellow, what-”

A loud and furious voice erupted from somewhere above.

“They're _gems_!!”

“Blue!” hissed Yellow. “Blue, there are other gems on Earth! They're talking to more than just a peridot, I know it!”

“Are you sure?!” Blue gasped, springing to her feet and scrambling over clumsily to listen too. Sure enough, multiple voices were murmuring above the surface, though the only voices she could distinguish from the hum of unfamiliarity were the rubies.

“Rubies, assemble!”

“Yellow, this is it,” Blue whispered, pushing her hair aside to look Yellow in the eyes. “This is our perfect moment. We have to go now, while the ruby's fusion is causing a scene.”

“I-Is this really going to work?!” Yellow cried, wide-eyed and uncertain. “I mean-”

“We don't have a choice.”

Blue began to push against the hatch, and after a moment of hesitation, Yellow joined in. Together, they appeared to hold the strength of a ruby, because the emergency hatch popped open and they took in dazzling, dazzling sunlight.

Blue squinted hard, her eyes sensitive enough to the artificial light of Homeworld, never mind the Earth's sun. Yellow blinked hard, and poked her head upwards, glancing around. The ruby towered above them, and Yellow was frankly just thankful that she was too preoccupied with the rebel gems to notice the two of them climbing out and onto the soft green grass that carpeted the hillside they had landed on.

When Blue's eyes adjusted, she tried to catch a glimpse of the faces of the gems the rubies were so intent on destroying. But shapes and colours blurred together, and it was all too much. She gripped Yellow's arm urgently.

“Where to?” she squeaked, all courage from earlier gone. Yellow glanced around the surrounding area, and spotted some kind of base, constructed from the wood of Earth.

“If we go there,” she decided in a low voice, “we'll have more cover. More hiding spots.”

Blue didn't need to be asked twice. She climbed up fully to the surface, wondering just how she had made it so many years with this silly sheen skirt, stars, it kept tangling around her angles with the constant forces at work in the Earth's atmosphere, pushing and pulling – she held it up with one hand, bunching in her clenched fist, and she offered the other to Yellow.

“Quickly. Before they unfuse.”

Yellow honestly wasn't sure how they'd made it. They'd taken off in a run to the side with the intent to circle around, stumbling and tripping over flowers and rocks and dirt, and just as they reached the entrance to the barn, Yellow saw the glow of the rubies unfusing. They were... they were leaving. As easily as that. Just how formidable were these Earth gems, anyway?

As the ship was swept into the sky, taking a wormhole out to avoid the risk of burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, Yellow turned away and swallowed.

“We... we need to hide. At least until they're gone.”

“But, we need to communicate with them,” Blue protested. “Yellow, if they have any knowledge when it comes to carrying gems, we need it! You need it! I don't know how normal any of your symptoms are, if there are pieces missing, if Yellow Diamond's violent temper possibly hurt you or the geodes in any way! They might have the answers-”

“And if they don't?” growled Yellow. “Are you willing to gamble my life? I know I'm just a pearl, but so are you. But those gems won't care about that. They'll strike us both down if they find us, and you're willing to trust them just because I'm... compromised?!”

“Us gems care a lot about all life, especially that of pearls,” a cool voice came from behind them. They almost jumped out of their skin, and Yellow whipped around with her fists raised, Blue following not too far behind.

Several gems crowded the entrance, supposedly attracted by the noise their argument was making – so much for subtlety. An unidentifiable fusion, some sort of deformed amethyst, a lapis lazuli, some kind of human – the peridot from the call! And...

Yellow's eyes widened.

“You,” she croaked, instinctively reaching over to grasp Blue's hand.

White stood before them, 5000 years later, still carrying the same deer-in-headlights look from back then, as she took in the very sight of them here, on Earth, the ghosts of the ex-lovers she left behind on Homeworld.

She didn't move. Instead, in the tiniest voice, she whispered, “Steven, I need to borrow that cellular phone of yours.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, leave kudos and comment if you liked it!


	4. Assimilation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with two distraught ex-lovers of hers was going to be trying enough, without also having to factor in how much of the conversation would be appropriate for Steven's ears. She still wasn't sure if she was ready for him to know a lot of things about her life before Earth, even though it would be undoubtedly harder now that Blue and Yellow were here, showing off everything that Homeworld pearls were, everything she used to be.  
> Still, they were here now, and it couldn't be helped.  
> (They talk, but do they communicate?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally its here!! this chapter has been written up for weeks, it's actually one of the first scenes i wrote for this fic, but i just couldn't think of an appropriate cover image, so in the end i chose pearl and yellow dueling it out. fun times. i know the background looks crappy, but in my defence i was tired and i've had a hell of a week and i just wanted this chapter UP already!!

 Greg turned up at the barn just as the sun was beginning to set in the sky, looking pretty confused at the impromptu invitation to take Steven for the night. This wasn't usually asked of him these days, chiefly because Steven was both old enough to join the gems on more dangerous missions and also perfectly capable of holding down the fort while they were gone (though there were times when Greg stayed over, in cases such as extreme snowfall or thunderstorms).

“You, er, said Steven needed a place to sleep for the night?” he asked, puzzled. “Can't he just return to the house?”

“We may be needing that as a place of interrogation tonight,” Pearl said tiredly. “There have been... new gems visiting Earth. Old contacts of mine, and they're in a situation that – well, it can't really be explained in front of Steven. It would hardly be appropriate, and I would really prefer to keep the less than savoury details of Homeworld society away from Steven for as long as possible. I'm sure Rose told you before just how gems are treated there.”

“A few times, yes.” He shuddered at some of the stories she told – of slavery, prostitution, execution for the most minor of offences – and figured Pearl was probably right. “Sure, I'll take him for tonight. He could use a break from what you guys have been working on, anyway. Steven! Are you ready to go?”

Steven's head poked out from the barn.

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

“I'm taking you out for a pizza night, buddy!” Greg said, keeping his voice controlled and upbeat. Pearl was thankful for his chipper attitude, since it usually convinced Steven to follow his requests without much of a fight. “You've been working too hard lately. We'll go see a movie, get some pizza, and we can spend the night in the van, just like old times!”

“Really?” Steven perked up, then stopped as he saw Pearl hovering nearby. “But, what about the new gems, Pearl?”

“Oh, we'll take care of it,” Pearl said quickly, waving a hand dismissively. “No need to worry, Steven! I highly doubt they will be a threat to us, but we need to discuss what exactly they're doing here. But Greg is right, you _have_ been working very hard lately. A night of recreational human activities and a good night's sleep will work wonders, I'm certain.”

Steven hesitated, glancing between Pearl and Greg. He turned to her one last time. “Are you sure you don't need me for it?”

“I promise you, it's something we can handle,” she said firmly. “Go on, Steven. Garnet is always saying you need to spend more time with Greg, isn't she?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess.” Steven nodded, and then his face brightened. “Okay! Lets go, Dad!”

As Steven ran towards Greg for a hug, Pearl shot him a grateful glance. Dealing with two distraught ex-lovers of hers was going to be trying enough, without also having to factor in how much of the conversation would be appropriate for Steven's ears. She still wasn't sure if she was ready for him to know a lot of things about her life before Earth, even though it would be undoubtedly harder now that Blue and Yellow were here, showing off everything that Homeworld pearls were, everything she used to be.

Still, they were here now, and it couldn't be helped. She would just have to monitor what they said around him, that was all.

Once both of them were trundling away in Greg's van, she let out a deep breath she hadn't even consciously been holding, and squared her shoulders, before turning on her heels and heading back to the barn. Blue and Yellow were still stood nervously in the centre of the circle, as though awaiting trial, while Garnet, Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis stood staring at them. Both pearls had their mouths pressed tightly shut, only easing up slightly once Pearl was back.

Blue was the first to bow, and Yellow followed suit, still giving Pearl a withering look the entire time.

“W-We humbly request asylum on Earth. Please don't send us back to Homeworld!” Blue squeaked.

Garnet cleared her throat. “At ease, both of you.”

They straightened up, looking a little confused. It wasn't unheard of for most gems to be able to talk freely with their supervisors, but pearls were rarely, if ever, given that opportunity themselves.

Amongst other pearls was another story, though.

Pearl took a step forward, sighed. Motioned to them.

“What are the two of you doing here...?” she asked weakly, unable to conjure up a better conversation starter. “You're both supposed to be on Homeworld.”

“As are you,” retorted Yellow sharply. “Didn't stop you from running off with your precious Rose Quartz, did it?”

“Yellow, you don't need to take that tone with me,” Pearl said with a frown. “You knew my plan. I invited you to join me and you refused, so why now? You always said you were happy to serve them.”

“Does it matter why now? You're a fine example of the hypocrisy in that statement,” Yellow snapped, rising to the bait immediately. “White Diamond's precious little toy, abandoning her post! I don't know why I thought you might be, I don't know, just the tiniest bit grateful we got out in one piece!”

There was a stunned silence for a moment, and Pearl realised with a sinking feeling in her chest that somehow, in the thousands of years she'd been raising Amethyst, she'd never once explained her true origins to her, and certainly never talked about once belonging to the all powerful White Diamond. The stricken gasp from Peridot's direction told her that when she'd predicted Pearl to have belonged to someone fancy, a diamond wasn't an option she had considered. Even Lapis, standing just on the outskirts of Pearl's line of vision, seemed surprised by this revelation, though since she had also been present during the war, she supposed it was more of a knee-jerk reaction to everyone else's shock.

Blue grabbed Yellow's arm.

“Calm down,” she murmured in a quiet, controlled voice. “We can't negotiate with anybody if we lose our tempers.”

“With a mouth like that, I'm amazed you're still here at all,” Pearl retorted, folding her arms. She watched them with hard eyes, still hardly believing it was really them after all this time. “I sure hope I'm the only one you talk to like that. I can't imagine that's something Yellow Diamond takes lightly.”

“Of course I would never speak to her with anything but respect, don't be absurd!” snarled Yellow, face flushing a rose gold at the suggestion. “And you of all people don't get to police what I say or do, White!”

“All right, all right,” Garnet interrupted, putting a safe distance between the two of them. She looked down at Blue and Yellow coolly, and simply said, “State your purpose for coming here.”

Blue fidgeted with her sheer skirt nervously.

“It was unsafe for us to stay on Homeworld anymore,” she said in a tiny voice. “We slipped away onto the next leaving ship, and we weren't _trying_ to go to Earth, honest, just... away from Our Diamonds. The ship ended up landing here, and we took the opportunity to escape from the hold when we heard the rubies fusing outside. Everyone was so distracted by the sight, they didn't even notice us exit the ship.”

“That was extremely risky. You're certain nobody saw you?” Pearl pressed.

“For the last time, no,” Yellow spat. “So you can stop your damn interrogation. If I knew you'd still be here... and you'd still be as obnoxious as back then-”

“How am I being obnoxious?” Pearl asked, brow furrowed. She folded her arms defensively. “You're the one trying to pick a fight.”

“Then don't rise to it,” Garnet said sharply, and both pearls fell silent, glaring at one another. “Given the state of the barn, I don't feel that it's very secure for questioning. We'll take them back to the temple.”

“Garnet, is that such a hot idea?” muttered Amethyst, eyeing the two new pearls critically. “They're kinda, y'know, master escape artists.”

“All the more reason to bring them to a secure location. And if they try anything...” Garnet tilted her visor, displaying her third, all-seeing eye to the two pearls. “...I will know about it.”

Blue swallowed thickly, reaching to squeeze Yellow's hand, and Yellow looked equally stricken, quickly looking away as colour rose to her cheeks.

Garnet led the way, and Amethyst and Pearl guarded Blue and Yellow in front and behind to prevent any escapes. Lapis had chosen to stay behind, but Peridot was eager to hear from Yellow about the current plans of Yellow Diamond in response to her rude communication call, so was tagging along.

The warp stream was filled to maximum capacity by the time they had all gathered on the warp pad, and Yellow and Blue's shoulders pressed up against one another as they travelled through the warp.

“It'll be okay,” Blue said, barely audible, into Yellow's ear. “Just try and be civil.”

Yellow said nothing.

When they arrived back, Amethyst flopped onto the couch, and the rest of the gems stood awkwardly in the centre of the room, exchanging looks.

“Well, we're all dying to hear you explanation, Yellow,” Pearl said flatly, hands on her hips. “Explain yourselves, please.”

“You don't get to treat us like garbage, White,” Yellow ground out. “I know you think you're better than us just because you got away millennia ago, but we have just as much right to freedom and safety as you do, so stop treating us like we're silly runaways and start treating us as you once preached we deserved to be treated!”

“You two need to stop arguing right now,” Garnet said firmly, turning her head to address the both of them. “Yellow, please explain to us without fighting with Pearl.”

_Deep breaths. In, out._

Yellow cleared her throat, clasped her hands together, and said simply, “I'm a carrier gem, and I have geodes incubating inside of me.”

Pearl's eyes widened. Garnet hummed. Peridot and Amethyst exchanged confused looks.

“C-Come again?” Pearl asked faintly.

“I'm carrying Blue's geodes. We knew we couldn't allow them to grow and also remain on Homeworld... so we escaped.”

“Unbelievable!” Peridot gasped, taking a step towards Yellow, who turned her chin up at Peridot and glared down at her. “I don't – I mean – that isn't possible, you're a _pearl!”_

“Care to retract that statement?” Pearl asked with a dangerous edge to her voice. Peridot shrank back a little, but still maintained her sentiment.

“It's true! I've never heard of a pearl who was capable of carrying young! Stars, I mean, I've never even heard of another gem carrying successfully, not since well before my formation, anyway! There are the odd reports in historical logs, of course, but-!”

“They just don't want you to figure it out,” Blue interrupted, hugging her torso. “Pearls are impregnated by their owners all the time, they just... get shattered before the news gets out.”

“It's true,” Pearl said with a heavy sigh. “It's a lot more common than Homeworld wants other gems to know, which is why a good portion of pearls are shattered beyond the comprehension of outsiders.”

“B-But that's ridiculous, surely they can't conceal every pregnancy they catch on Homeworld!” Peridot burst out, fists clenched. “Surely pearls are sneakier than that!”

“A lot are far too scared to hide it from their owners,” Yellow snapped. “They live in constant fear of what will happen to them, and being shattered is the easy way out. And then there are gems like me. Clearly.”

“Yes, but I have to admit, the two of you escaping and arriving here was something that I hadn't expected,” Pearl said, clasping her hands together. “Is it likely that Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond will notice your absences?” Yellow shot her a look, and she sighed. “Of course they will, what am I saying? But I mean... do you think they'll...”

“I don't think they'll track us to Earth,” Blue supplied. “We slipped out on the tracking vessel with the ruby squadron deployed to Earth to bring back the jasper from the original Earth mission; they have no idea where we went, so they may still be searching Homeworld. It's far more likely that we were stolen by petty thief gems than that we left willingly, after all.”

“That is true...”

“The rubies aboard that ship weren't even bright enough to check the brig for stowaways,” Yellow added, arms folded disapprovingly. “It's no wonder they believed your lie about the jasper being on Neptune.”

“What was your plan, anyway?” Pearl demanded, a little frustrated. “Homeworld doesn't know the Crystal Gems are still alive, do they? So, what were you planning on doing here anyway, if you didn't discover us – didn't see me out there?”

“We heard that Earth was supposed to be a place where gems could seek refuge,” Blue said, voice a little smaller than before at Pearl's sharp tone. “And since the rubies were headed there, we realised that the peridot's refusal to destroy the Earth had resulted in its survival against the geo-weapon planted by Yellow Diamond. S-So, we were going to sneak away and find a location where we could hopefully survive. Like an old gem sea spire, or something. Or perhaps the sky arena, if it's still there...”

“And how were you expecting to get to the sky arena?” Pearl pressed, arms folded. Blue cringed.

“Um... by a warp pad, if we could find any working ones?”

“Your plan was extremely fragile. It's a good thing we found you before the rubies did, let me tell you! The diamonds would order you to be shattered on the spot!”

“Pearl,” cut in Amethyst, glancing between the three pearls worriedly as the three of them turned to look at her simultaneously. “Maybe you shouldn't yell at them. I mean, they have guts, right? To risk everything to come here, like you and Rose and Garnet did?”

“I...” Pearl paused, and turned to Blue and Yellow, looking nervous and pissed respectively. She sighed. “I still think it was incredibly reckless of you two. But, it was brave of you to defy your diamonds in order to save yourselves, so I commend you for that.”

Blue and Yellow exchanged looks. Then, without warning, Blue darted forward. Pearl barely had time to reach for her weapon before she was gathered into a tight hug.

“We missed you, White,” she whispered, and Pearl blushed a deep cyan. “Thank you for not exiling us.”

“It would go against my title as a Crystal Gem to exile any gem who needed our help,” she muttered, patting Blue's back awkwardly. She met Yellow's gaze, and Yellow promptly turned away.

“Man, I never thought I'd see the day gems were all knocking on our door needing our help,” Amethyst sighed. “Was it always like this in the rebellion? Gems coming into your house asking for protection?”

“Sometimes,” Garnet said with a smile. “Often it was gems who had been stranded on Earth after their fleets left them due to injury to their gems. Unless they gave us a reason not to trust us, Rose generally welcomed them to the cause.” She paused. “That said, we've never had a case like this.”

“Well, what's done is done.” Pearl turned to address Blue and Yellow once more. “We will offer you our sanctuary. But in return, you must contribute to our team. That includes training with me, helping with chores for the house, aiding us on missions and helping with future engineering projects. There will come a time for us to assess your individual skills, but for now, it is probably best for the two of you to stay here. Lapis is hostile enough to having other gems stay at the barn, and as it currently has a large hole in the roof, it's probably best for a carrying gem to stay here, where you have more shelter and easier access to the temple if you acquire our assistance with anything.”

“I agree with Pearl,” Garnet added, taking a step forward to address the two pearls stood before them. “But we won't always be offering sanctuary to gems who refuse to join our cause, so think carefully about what you want. Once your gemlings are hatched, you will have to come to the decision whether or not you agree with our doctrine. If not, we will have to remove you from our base, and you will be left to fend for yourselves. Of course, in this time we will have taught you how to live in society, so it wouldn't be stranding without any means of survival.”

Blue swallowed. The thought of her and Yellow being cast out to live without any sort of direction was horrifying. She could hardly believe they'd been prepared to do just that upon arriving on Earth.

“Th-Thank you for your hospitality. We will, um, provide any... services that you may require,” Blue said with a deep bow. Yellow did the same, more out of habit than out of respect for this small army of defects.

“That won't be necessary. Pearls are not servants here on Earth. We are all equals for as long as you temporarily reside with the Crystal Gems,” Garnet said in a low voice, urging them to stand at ease. They did so, exchanging slightly flustered glances.

“Now,” Pearl said briskly, clapping her hands, “Now that that is sorted out, we'll need to do a physical examination of you, Yellow.”

Yellow blanched at the idea.

“What? No, you're the last person I would-!”

“This isn't a joyous experience for either of us, believe me,” Pearl said with a sour expression, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. It wasn't like she wasn't expecting Yellow to be extremely bitter and irrational if they reunited again, but that had always been a big if, and it was something she hadn't truly prepared for. “Listen, there's a reason that carrying gems rarely make it to term, but we know how to provide basic pre-natal care from when we took care of Rose Quartz... in her final months.” She looked away, a blush rising on her cheeks, and Yellow frowned.

“Where is Rose Quartz, anyway? And what do you mean by that, White?”

“Rose Quartz gave up her physical form to create her son, Steven, who you will meet soon enough,” Garnet explained. She glanced upwards at Rose's portrait, and Blue and Yellow followed her gaze. “It was her choice, and one we have dutifully respected. The way that human mothers carry human young is very similar to how carrier gem reproduction works, so it was manageable to cross over the concepts. It also means that we have a stronger idea than most gems on how to properly prepare the both of you for the gestation period and raising gemlings. It won't be easy, but if you're up to the task, a physical examination will be required.”

“You don't have to trust me,” Pearl said in resign, squeezing her eyes shut. It just felt too painful to look at them right now. “I know you must hate me right now, and that's fine. But if you came here to Earth, that means to some degree you want to live to see your geodes, and your gemlings. So just let me do this for you, please.”

Yellow frowned, a golden hue flooding her features as she mulled over Pearl's words. It was true, that she had left Homeworld to save these pearls incubating inside of her. But did she care about raising them? It hadn't really occurred to her what would come after saving them. All she'd known, upon deciding to escape, was that she didn't want more pearls to be needlessly shattered because of her.

“Okay,” she relented, lowering her head. “Okay, you win. You can examine me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was tempted to make a joke about pearl borrowing steven's phone to call up mystery girl but lets be real she has enough relationship drama on her hands now without adding an attractive human lady into the mix.  
> anyway, i'm still in the process of writing chapter 5 so that might come slower, especially since i don't have a cover image yet either and all my deadlines are for the beginning of december (plus i started a job which will eat up my weekends). so yeah!!!! expect an update around mid december i guess

**Author's Note:**

> Next up: the sweet escape.
> 
> Anyway, I'm excited to see where it goes, but I'm not promising consistent updates bc i'm sure Blue and Yellow will be appearing again veeeery soon in the show, and my inspiration might come and go if that happens, as it tends to once something in my canons proves false. Leave a comment to let me know what you think!!


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